My Journey to Success

We've all experienced those really tricky moments in life, where we wonder 'how on earth we are going to get through this?', or we look back and think 'how the hell did I get through that?' I'm no different. I've certainly had my fair share of bendy moments, but my guiding principle is that classic expression: It's not about how many times you get knocked down, it's all about how you get back up, and come back even stronger.

​

​I decided to become a life coach myself after having the realisation that I wished I had got a life coach years ago... 

​

When I left school, it was with few recognised qualifications. So I decided to do a university access course as a mature student, at a grand old age of 21, and then go on to a degree is psychology and criminology. I really wanted to get inside the criminal mind and understand why people commit the offences that they do. Other than that, I didn't specifically know what I wanted to do once I had my degree. It got to my third year and I decided to drop the psychology part of my degree, as I found myself increasingly interested in crime (studying it, not committing it, just to be clear!). I finished my degree with a 2:1 and had zero clue of what I wanted to do next, so Hannah's logic said, go and do a Masters Degree, then you'll have it all figured out! So I did,  I achieved my Masters degree at a different university. Although, nearing completion, life started to become more challenging and I had to overcome a personal and family trauma.

​

A couple years passed and I really wanted to do get back to where I had been academically, begin to thrive again, and get my career back on track, but still didn't really have a clue what I wanted to do. So, of course, if in doubt, go off and start a PhD. I loosely picked a topic that interested me from my masters. I submitted my application, received several offers from various universities, and selected a university where I knew one of my previous lecturers was in my department. I successfully had my thesis ethics approved and reached the half way point of my major review, all the time absolutely hating it with a passion. I loved the teaching element that came with being a PhD student but the rest just was not for me. I had come to the really tough conclusion that this wasn't the right direction for me to go. I remember making that decision, and once made, a physical weight lifting off my shoulders. All of a sudden I felt I could breathe, all that combined pressure - professional, academic, personal - started to feel more manageable. Sometime later, I started to look at life coaching as a client, as I felt I needed to regain some direction. In doing so, I remembered how I had negotiated trauma and ambition to achieve a sense of relief and empowerment. Then I realised, my own experience had made me the life coach I always needed, and that those skills I had developed could help others. So I began would to train professionally as one.

​

​Hindsight is a wonderful thing, for me, I wish someone had told me about the benefits of seeing a coach (career or life) and how it would make a difference to my career and life. That said, I am where I am because of where I have been. I have learnt and grown so much as a person on my journey, which is still not over. Neither is yours. To be able to pass some small nuggets of my life experiences and knowledge to others and being in an honoured position to watch others personal growth is what I find most fulfilling.

​

Since completing my Personal Performance Diploma and gaining a fantastic foundation for coaching with The Coaching Academy, I decided that I wanted to specialise in the area where I have felt I have had the most experience. I want to provide the support and a foundation for others to overcome their personal trauma and give them the tools to thrive. I have recently achieved my Trauma Recovery Coach certification with the International Association Of Trauma Recovery Coaching and Trauma Coach Practitioner and Advocate certification with the Global Trauma Institute